Detroit Police Harass Pro-Life Supporters, Shut Down Free Speech Outside Superbowl
DETROIT, November 22, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) - Alliance Defense Fund allied attorneys filed suit Monday against Detroit police for violating the free speech rights of six pro-life supporters, all of whom were harassed and later prevented from expressing their views outside the Superbowl in February 2006.
"Detroit police need to be reminded that free speech is the right of all Americans, not just a select few," said ADF-allied attorney Ted Hoppe. "They clearly acted in violation of the Constitution when they chose to single out and squelch pro-life speech."
After learning of the group's plans to demonstrate Feb. 5, police first instructed them to move to the other side of the street. They were later told by a second officer that they would be restricted to a traffic island. Signs critical of abortion were confiscated after the group refused officers' demands to turn them around.
Police also towed away a car bearing pictures of aborted children and impounded it for two days. Officers refused to provide their names and badge numbers when the protesters requested them. Officers did not approach other people with signs carrying various other messages.
"It is truly disturbing when officers of the law must be re-educated about the tenets of the Constitution," Hoppe said. "Whether certain speech is considered 'popular' or not is entirely irrelevant. Their harassment of these individuals, who were acting peacefully in exercising their First Amendment rights, must be rectified and prevented from occurring in the future."
A copy of the complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan in Marcavage v. City of Detroit is available at http://www.telladf.org/UserDocs/MarcavageComplaint.pdf
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